Jason Arday was first celebrated and recently reviled.

Today he was found dead in his flat in Battersea, South London at the age of 41, after mounting pressure surrounding his academic credentials and accusations of plagiarism.

Arday was hailed as Cambridge’s youngest black professor and his story was an extraordinary one. Diagnosed as autistic, he claimed he didn’t speak until he was 11 and couldn’t write or read until he was 18.

His was a triumph of the will.

Black Britons held him up as a hero, and Millennials and Gen Z said he was their champion.

But a deeper dive into his touted accomplishments revealed all was not what it seemed, and questions were being asked

One question that is now gaining momentum is, did the pressure lead to his demise? Did the scrutiny break him?

Cambridge University is now conducting an investigation into his academic work, and other scholars are asking how the esteemed British seat of learning allowed itself to be duped by this young black man?

The father of two was a fellow at Jesus College.

Some say this was a case of why Woke is all wrong and that there needs to be a return to a level playing field.

With the furore gathering into a maelstrom, Professor Arday took the decision to step down from his position at Cambridge University as a professor of sociology and stated: “ After days of questions from all quarters, there comes a point when the personal cost becomes too great. I have a family. I want to be present for them. I want to reclaim some peace, some privacy and some semblance of an ordinary life. I no longer wish to feel as though I am living under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of my life is subject to public examination and judgment.

“For my own wellbeing, for my family, and for those who have stood by me throughout this difficult period, I have concluded that the only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away.’

“This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me. It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.”

Now he is dead, his reputation tarnished.